Distance
by Katurz
Summary: Hades has been searching for the perfect Queen to rule beside him. He finds the qualities he's been looking for in a spirited girl named Kore. However, when Kore is sucked back to Storybrooke with no memory of their time together, he realizes that this may be more complicated than originally intended.


**I don't know why I'm making a new fanfiction when I can't keep up with my old ones but this has been lying around for a while so I wanted to post it.**

Prologue

A slight breeze gently swayed Kore's brown hair. She was picking daises in a garden a few yards from her house. The village that resided in front of her bare feet was barely sustainable, yet she had enjoyed living here for the past month. The village folk survived off stale bread and meat for the most part, while Kore survived off of little more than a few seeds every few weeks. The townsfolk rarely bothered her, only coming to her when their crops were failing to bloom or when they needed a new patch of grass to feed their horses. She was happy to help and saw it as payment for their willingness to let her stay.

She stayed in the small cabin farthest from the village's center. Her wooden house only had one room that possessed a single bed and a small bath. Although quaint, it was enough to keep her satisfied. Instead of spending her days by the village, she wandered to new places, traveling a mile more every time. She figured that this would keep her mind off of her lost life in Storybrooke.

Kore sighed as she reached down for a yellow daisy. She pulled its root from the earth and twirled the stem between her fingers. She had a large estate in Storybrooke and a few generous friends... however, without news of the curse arriving, she had no time to run or even call to her friends. When she woke up, she was next to a streaming river with no one in sight. She missed Christopher…

After a moment, Kore placed the daisy into a crafted basket that she held in the crook of her arm. She sighed and turned back to the village. The bouquet in her basket was for the young child Ana, who was dying due to an unknown sickness. She was only six, yet the sickness was advancing rapidly. It was the same illness that took her mother. Kore was unable to do anything and therefore decided she would make Ana a beautiful present before she passed on.

Kore grinned softly at the arrangement of flowers and started to walk towards the village. A man was walking towards her with a pail of water. She recognized him as the town healer, who tended to wounds with various herbs Kore grew for him. He had a thick, white beard that trailed town to his sternum and often wore a black cap on top of his balding head. He wore brown trousers and a thin white cotton shirt. His outfit was not uncommon amongst the men in the village. The man smiled as he walked by Kore, so she reciprocated the action.

"Good day for picking flowers?" he asked, ceasing his venture. Kore stopped with him and turned to face him.

"Yes, I figured Ana would like these flowers I picked for her," she said carefully.

"You are a goddess amongst us, Kore," the man said. Kore's grin only grew wider, reaching to her ears. She thanked the man and then continued towards her cabin. She entered it a few minutes later and instantly hurried to her bed, placing the basket down by her pillow. After sitting down, her brain registered an annoying pain in her foot. She brought her foot onto her lap, and located a splinter in her heel. Kore carefully removed it and flung it across the room. It was then she noticed a shadow that usually wasn't there.

"Who are you?" Kore asked, standing from her cot. The shadow exited the corner of her cabin. His orange hair instantly caught light as he folded his hands together and observed the strange girl's mannerisms.

"You're not of this town," Kore said sternly.

"No, I am most certainly not," the man chuckled lightly, his hands brushing against his black suit. Kore raised an eyebrow at the suit. It reeked of modern age, yet Kore did not recognize the man from Storybrooke. "I need your help."

"You will tell me who you are before I help you with anything," Kore demanded, shifting onto one leg and crossing her arms. The man raised his eyebrows.

"I never knew you to have attitude."

"I never knew you at all," Kore shot back.

"Touche. Now, Kore-"

"How do you know my name?"

The man sighed in annoyance of the retorts but pressed on. "The crops in a village not too far from here are wilting and dying. If they aren't rejuvenated soon then the village will die."

"Why do you think I can do anything about it?" Kore asked. She slowly descended onto her bed again. Her legs were already tired from picking flowers and exploring. The man remained standing but inched closer to Kore every few minutes. She prepared herself to attack if it became necessary.

"I know your powers, Kore, I've seen you just like most of the people in this forest have."

"If you say," Kore paused. "Your suit is not of here. You most definitely do not live in that village so what benefit will come from me rejuvenating the crops."

"My home is…well let's just say that my home is crowded already. The dying villagers would add to the burden and I would prefer to prolong it for as long as possible."

"I'll go with you," Kore said. "Not because I want to, but because this village is boring and I'm searching for people that I will definitely not find by staying here."

"We should leave as soon as possible," the man said. He reached for Kore's hand. She took it, feeling his icy cold finds wrap around her own. She grimaced at the coldness, yet did not pull away. He helped her to her feet and led her away from the small cabin. Asking his named slipped her mind as she left Ana's basket of flowers next to her pillow, and followed him away from her home.


End file.
